Okay. Confession time…I am a DIE HARD Gilmore Girls fan. The funny thing is while I’m old enough to have watched it when it aired the first time around, but I happened to only stumble across it about two years ago (thanks Netflix!). I feel in love with the quirky small town life, that special Mom-Daughter relationship, and the sweetness of the show.
I’m still trying to find a way to live in Stars Hollow (Yes, I KNOW it’s fictional)
If you have never watched it (gasp, I’ll watch until you add it to your Watch List now…), the main character Lorelai Gimore is as fiercely independent as they come, and she has a flair for the unique. After being raised in an oppressive high-brow household where everything had to be “just right”, when she had her own life she rebelled by surrounding herself with things (and people) she found charming.
And a big part of the show is the humble yet comfy home she created for herself and her daughter Rory. As a single Mom she didn’t have a lot of extra money for fancy furniture, nor would she ever want it. Instead their home was a cobbled mix of their story pulled together (remember the infamous Monkey Lamp?!)
So what can Gilmore Girls teach us about decorating our homes?
Quite a lot actually.
So what can the Gilmore Girls teach us about home decorating?
Gilmore Lesson #1
If you love it, buy it. You’ll find a place for it.
If an item makes you smile, brings back a memory, or is an inside joke from a favorite childhood memory: buy it. And display it proudly where it will make you smile. The best homes don’t look like a catalog. The best homes are a reflection of YOU: it should be a place that is surrounded by the people and things you love.
Gilmore Lesson #2
If you want to make your home the place to be, make comfort key.
Now, I’m an interior designer, I’m never going to tell you to put ugly mismatched items together on purpose. But who cares if your beautiful sofa was in the latest edition of House Beautiful if no one will sit on it? I have three kiddos-I want OUR house to be the place where their friends want to hang out. Make sure that sofa you choose will also work for pizza nights and impromptu all night chat sessions. You’ll be glad you did. That Gilmore sofa above did all of that and more…it was even home to Rory’s first date.
And who wouldn’t want to crawl up into this cozy bed and watch Lorelai’s Lifetime Movie Network collection?
Gilmore Lesson #3
Can’t fight the urge to collect? Try dishes.
While collecting all of the Charlie’s Angels may not be your first priority (like Lorelai and Rory), you can make eating fun by using a mis-match of items you love. Go with a theme or just collect what you love. If you have young kids, you won’t shed a tear as they slowly break your entire collection of Pottery Barn dishes (eehm, I’m hitting close to home here!)
Gilmore Lesson #4
Pick a place in your home to go bold.
Since we are hanging out in their kitchen, let’s just check out these mint green cabinets and yellow checkered floor. Okay, so I probably wouldn’t recommend getting too wild and crazy with your kitchen cabinets, but what about a wild armchair? Or a bold set of curtains? Or even swapping out those kitchen knobs to something with some zing (they are easy to replace down the line!). This kitchen was home to hours of long talks over bags of Chinese take-out. And for good reason.
So decorate with a color you love. If you come to my house, you are going to find turquoise everywhere. Because turquoise and I are having a love affair that isn’t ending anytime soon!
Gilmore Lesson #5
Always let your kids have a say in their own bedroom.
In the infamous episode where Emily decorates Rory’s room in her own home in the “Backside Boys”, it reminds us that kid’s have their own style. There isn’t a better place to let kid’s have input than in the place they call theirs (And if you can’t stand those bubblegum pinks walls? Well, that’s what doors are for!). So while Rory would rather be surrounded by her books and comfy quilt, she bit her tongue at the room that didn’t feel a bit like herself.
If your daughter loves Shopkins, you probably don’t want to plaster her room floor to ceiling in it (because she is going to be obsessed with something new next month). But let her choose a Shopkins pillow or some special artwork for her walls. She will take more pride in her room when she feels like it is a reflection of herself.
Gilmore Lesson #6
When you need to be inspired, create a Mood Board.
Whenever I design a room for my clients (or myself!) I always pull together a “Mood Board” that shows the style (or “mood”) of the room. It can be hard to visualize a roomful of furnishings without seeing it first! I like to include all of the furnishings and fixtures in a Mood Board so I can visualize everything pulled together before buying a thing.
To keep the inspiration of Rory’s dream of Harvard alive and well, she and Lorelai went to town to create this vision “Mood Board”. Kind of like the early 2000’s Pinterest Board?
Gilmore Lesson #7
Home is wherever your loved ones are.
I know in this Pinterest-perfect world it is easy to get wrapped up in coveting the latest style, or get into the Keeping Up with the Jones’s mentality. But let’s be real here. You can make wherever you are living “home”. Whether or not it is your dream house, or you camping out in an apartment for a few years, or moving every few years…surround yourself with the people you love. Make your house comfy cozy. Invite your neighbors over. Get in a pillowfight with your kids. Make home a place of fun and love, and you’ll never be sorry.
So there you go…I”m giving you permission to binge watch all seven seasons! All in the name of research, right?
If you also want to binge on home decor freebies, ideas, and more, I have some exciting news for you:
I’m rolling out my BRAND NEW Free Resource Library!
It is chock full of Guides, Shopping Lists, Worksheets and more. I’m always adding to it, so you get full 24/7 access.
Plus, you get an exclusive reader discount for all of my services.
Shhh, it’s just available to you guys!
Get it all HERE!
Or get your design fix and hang out with me on social media on FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM & PINTEREST!
Leave a Reply